NEWS
Follow UsEngland white-ball captain Jos Buttler has confirmed that Jofra Archer, who last played for the Three Lions back in March 2023, will make his much-awaited comeback to international cricket in the first T20I against Pakistan, on May 22 (Wednesday).
Archer has played only three T20Is since the start of 2022 and has played no professional cricket since the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which he exited mid-way due to injury. But the 29-year-old was included in England’s squad for both the T20 World Cup and the four-match T20I series against Pakistan after he made significant progress in his recovery.
Archer has been ramping up his fitness slowly; last week, he made an appearance for Sussex’s second XI. A few days prior to that, he played club cricket in Barbados.
"Yes [Archer will play in the first T20I against Pakistan]”, Buttler confirmed on May 21 (Tuesday).
"I think we just have to manage him through and see how it goes but he's fully fit now which is really exciting. He has a big smile on his face. It's great to see him back fit and bowling fast - and just having him back around the group. I know how much he has missed that.”
Considering Archer is returning to top-level cricket after a year, Buttler asserted that it’ll be important for everyone to temper their expectations.
"We've got to temper expectations, he's been out of international cricket for a long time and you can never quite replicate that, but we all know what a superstar he has been,” Buttler said.
"Any player of Jofra's calibre is a huge asset to any team, so absolutely it makes us a better side and gives us a better and gives us a better chance of winning games.
"But we're not expecting too much from him too soon. It's important that he just enjoys being back and playing cricket. As England captain, and as a fan, people want to see Jofra playing cricket which is going to be great."
England are, of course, the defending T20WC champions but their last defense of an ICC title did not go well. Seven months ago in India, the Three Lions had a 50-over World Cup campaign to forget, exiting the competition in the group stages, losing six of the nine matches they played.
Buttler admitted that the disastrous WC campaign ‘dented’ England’s pride but asserted that the 50-over WC result will have no bearing on how the Three Lions fare in the T20WC next month.
"There's no extra pressure," Buttler said.
"Our pride was obviously dented a lot in that tournament. It was a really disappointing competition but life moves on. It's a chapter in the book and there's lessons you learn from that. But now we're presented with a new opportunity, a different format, and we're really excited to go to the West Indies in a World Cup, as defending champions again, and give a better account of ourselves."
The first T20I of the four-match series will be played at Headingley, Leeds, on May 22 (Wednesday).
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